Big views to enjoy, knowing you won't need to walk over the top


(Anna-Maria writes:) The South Lakes is a beautiful area to walk in during the unreliable winter months. It is incredibly compact, compared to the more mountainous surrounds of the rest of the Lake District. Whether you head north, west or east from the popular tourist area of Ambleside and its immediate surrounds you can quickly find yourself needing to climb over high ridges again to move from place to place.

This circuit keeps to the lower areas near Ambleside, exploring low passes between valleys and leaving you with an intimate knowledge of how the different parts of this popular tourist area lock together, just like the pieces of a jigsaw.

For both novice walkers and more experienced walkers looking for a more relaxed pace for a few days, this area can provide stunning scenery and a sense of wilderness without ever straying far from relatively large habitations. It is easy to cut routes short if necessary and a good time can be enjoyed by everyone, whatever their age or ability, thanks to the lower heights that need to be achieved to cross between valleys.

With all these benefits I find that the South Lakes circuit is one of my favourite routes to review for Alpine Exploratory during the winter months. Winter review work can frequently be wet, cold and muddy, no matter how well prepared you are. Although a single clear winter day with snow on the ground can often make up for any number of wet days endured up to then.

Winter also brings the looming pressure of fewer daylight hours. In this respect the South Lakes route brings a great benefit. The routes each day are shorter than on many of our other routes. Wet and cold can be easily endured in the knowledge that walking a little faster can bring you to warm and cosy accommodation in a few hours. If necessary there is time to wait for a more reliable weather window in the day to walk and pubs abound for emergency breaks. Snow also rarely upsets plans on the South Lakes circuit. Low-level paths that are easy underfoot remain passable. Instead the snow merely adds some crisp beauty to the view.

This year had the added challenge of re-structuring the route for the new modular Lake District series. While we had walked the route before, we had never done it in this direction. Previously treasured views were lost, unless we stopped to look behind us. Fortunately whole new vistas opened up too.

We started our review halfway through the official circuit, setting out from Coniston in torrential horizontal rain and sleet. Coniston is a pretty village with some superb walking circuits that can be done from the door as day walks. The route we took gives you an opportunity to explore parts of several Coniston day walks by taking a winding, indirect route over to Hawkshead. There is the opportunity to stretch your legs on a pretty early morning climb through the deciduous wooded area of Guards Wood before crossing some of the less-frequented trails in Grizedale Forest later in the day.


The South Lakes Circuit has many pretty woodland stretches

Grizedale Forest was particularly beautiful for us this year as we were the first to make tracks in several inches of crunchy fresh snow. It was a perfect start to our review, despite the rain that kept up steadily during the morning.

Our destination that evening was Hawkshead, a village that is popular with tourists as it has strong links to Beatrix Potter, author of the children’s books. Everywhere you turn you can find mementoes of her stories. Thankfully a plethora of friendly pubs serving good food and a pedestrianised high street means that the village can ably handle the influx of tourists each year. In February, as we descended a boggy field towards the village, heads down against the continuing rain, we found that the village was comparatively quiet. We were certainly glad to be warmly welcomed off the snowy hillside by our accommodation hosts for that evening.


Looking back to the mountains in the East, leaving Hawkshead

By the next morning, most of the snow had melted away and the temperature had risen. We were able to stroll out of Hawkshead towards the glorious and remote-feeling Tarn Hows under a blue sky admiring some of our favourite views of this part of the Lake District. Looking back towards Hawkshead as you leave, the distant mountains in the East seem to be from another world compared to the gentle climb you are taking across fields and through small copses of deciduous trees to the tarn.


Grand views across Tarn Hows

This isn’t the end of pretty wooded areas either. Later in the day you get to drop through another pretty wooded area past the small but captivating waterfalls at Colwith Force. This theme of water and deciduous woodland is one that recurs throughout the South Lakes circuit. When compared to the denser coniferous plantations elsewhere in the Lake District, this old English deciduous woodland that you meet so often during the four days of the South Lakes Circuit walk can start to feel like a unique feature for this route.

Having spent a night at the busy town of Ambleside – the starting point of this route for most of our clients – we set out the next morning towards the Great Langdale valley. This was where the real surprises began for us. We felt that we knew this area well but walking it in reverse reminded us how much can be missed if you don’t look behind you enough when you walk.

The day from Ambleside out to Great Langdale is a perfect start for any walker who is new to the Lake District. The scenery is grand and towers above you, yet the walking is mostly flat. The day’s first surprise came as we climbed up Loughrigg Terrace, looking towards Grasmere. These views are far more superb than when descending the same piece of open moorland towards Rydal Water.

I love the route the South Lakes circuit takes along the shore of Rydal Water. It's easy to overlook this body of water, if leaving Grasmere and driving past Rydal Water enroute to Ambleside, assuming that this is just another part of Grasmere. Fewer people take the time to walk on the shores of Rydal Water compared to some of the other easily accessed waters in the Lake District National Park and this keeps Rydal Water feeling particularly special.

We were also overjoyed to spend several more hours than usual walking with the Langdale Pikes dominating the scenery simply by approaching them from the East rather than the South. The Great Langdale valley is wide and flat allowing an extended period of easy walking as your eyes draw you forward towards the towering peaks at the end of the valley. A real treat for the close of your first day of walking – especially if you are new to walking in the Lake District.


A final glimpse back to the Langdale Pikes

Our final day was another special day for us. It takes the walker into an area that can feel almost deserted compared to the rest of the South Lakes. While cars can be found queuing through the Little Langdale valley, waiting for their opportunity to get over the steep and narrow Wrynose Pass at the end of the valley, walkers crossing the bleak moorland of Blea Moss are not as common. In fact, walkers can become scarcer still as you continue forwards, gently passing from the Little Langdale valley to the Yewdale valley to reach busier roads and Coniston.


The easy crossing between tall mountains into Little Langdale

If you are new to multi-day walking this South Lakes walking route is the perfect testing ground for finding out how it feels to walk on consecutive days carrying your own luggage as you walk. The opportunity to pause for a contemplative break, inspired by grand views but safe in the knowledge that you can enjoy them without the worry of then climbing up and over them, can be a great introduction to the grand scenery of the Lake District. While the terrain is easy underfoot and problems are unlikely to occur you are also rarely far from help if you need it. This can bring valuable peace of mind to less experienced walkers or those wanting to introduce younger children to the grand mountain scenery here.

In so many respects the South Lakes circuit is a training ground for the bigger, longer and tougher walking challenges of the other circuits. Challenges I still have ahead of me this year as I look forward to reviewing the other new Lake District circuits over the next couple of months ready for this season's clients.

The South Lakes was the first area of the Lakes I ever walked in, and I still think it is one of the best introductions you can get to walking in the Lake District National Park. If you are new to this kind of walking trip, this South Lakes circuit will give you the opportunity to explore and fall in love with the Lake District for the first time, just as it did for me all those years ago.

South Lakes Circuit - trek this route in 4 stages and 5 nights